Ford Ranger Raptor off-road mega test: from red dirt to sea

It’s a car designed to spend time off the ground as well as being punished at top speed along gravel tracks. But how does the Ford Ranger Raptor stand up to the torture of an Aussie outback drive, kids and all?

That was the mission for this test.

We’ve established that the Raptor is an amazing machine when driven flat out. It delivers Porsche GT3-like smiles when the bitumen has long dissolved into the rear vision mirror.

But for this trip we wanted to see how the Raptor went over thousands of kilometres with the family onboard.

Our test started in Sydney and headed west towards the Eyre Peninsula.

As we quickly learnt it’s an off-road paradise – as well as one that ticks plenty of holiday boxes. The mostly open roads involved loads of country-road cruising in 100km/h and 110km/h zones.

Not that we kept a log, but there were probably more bumps than corners. We also threw in a side trip along Goog’s Track, otherwise known as the mini Simpson Desert. Its collection of 363 sand dunes makes it the perfect test for the Fox shocks that are key to the suspension upgrades unique to the Raptor.

While its exterior panels add width to the Raptor, it has the same cabin space and load area as any other Ford Ranger. That means a spacious cabin that was well suited to the family of four; even the kids had little to complain about (and with five USB ports there’s no arguing over keeping gadgets juiced up!).

But like all utes storage options in the cabin are limited. The middle seat space was quickly transformed into a load area, but everything else was piled into the tray. That included a sizeable car fridge, which plugged into the load area power outlet.

Like most utes, you always end up wishing a tie-down point was somewhere else, but on the whole, the sturdy units did a great job of keeping everything located.

Between camp mattresses, tents, cooking gear, recovery equipment and clothing it was very much a full house, to the point where the load was poking above the roofline.

We also would have been close to the Raptor's load limit. At 2.4 tonnes the Raptor is the heaviest Ranger you can buy and at 705kg its payload is very modest by ute standards.

Our adventure left from Sydney, heading over the Blue Mountains and along the vast plains heading west.

While the rear suspension was squatting slightly, the Raptor never felt overburdened. There’s sturdiness but also enough compliance to ensure decent comfort levels.

The knobbly BF Goodrich tyres aren’t overly noisy but nor do they bite convincingly on twisting bitumen.

With 292kW the 3.0-litre V6 twin turbo has loads of grunt – and a satisfying snarl as an aural accompaniment. That engine makes overtaking that little bit easier. No need to wind up and anticipate, just sink your right foot to the floor and it’s action stations. It’s not quite a V8 - especially in sound - but the mid-rev shove is intoxicating.

Fuel use hovered around 11 litres per 100km, which isn’t far off the claimed 11.5L/100km average.

The first real test for the Raptor came not far out of Port Augusta, once the bitumen ended as we headed west towards Mt Ive Station.

The sun was racing towards the horizon, sending a signal to kangaroos that it was time to start chancing their luck on the craggy gravel.

With enough daylight left for the last couple of hundred kays of unpredictable roads I decided to push on – and quickly learnt that the Raptor was well up to the challenge. Occasional washouts, wayward rocks and soft patches were arriving in quick succession.

But the active suspension with brilliant Fox shock absorbers handled it all beautifully. Even faced with big hits that had the coil-sprung suspension threatening to shake hands with its bump-stops, the shock absorbers adjusted within milliseconds and controlled what was a lot of mass (and momentum).

In its most aggressive Baja drive mode the Raptor delivers a terrific blend of control and compliance. And it’s not just hardware doing the work; software constantly evaluates the speed and situation to prepare and settle the big Raptor.

Heavy hits that would have regular utes bucking and bouncing didn’t get close to upsetting the Raptor. It’s astonishingly good at covering broken ground swiftly – and with excellent control.

And those BFG tyres that aren’t especially exciting on bitumen suddenly feel at home on rocky ground. As well as fending off punctures, those big tread blocks add confidence when cornering, helping extract the most from the vehicle.

The BFGs came into their own on a rocky gravel road when an emu emerged from the trees from stage left at top speed. We were cruising at around 80km/h when it was time for an emergency stop, gravel peppering the inner wheel arches as the nose dipped.

Its gangly legs were lost below the view over the bonnet - but the big bird kept running. The kids thought I’d collected it. The ABS and surefooted stopping ensured otherwise. That confidence was a winner in a situation that could have taken a chunk out of the front end – and knocked one from the emu population.

But this adventure wasn’t all about higher-speed roads so typical of the Aussie outback. We also headed for Goog’s Track, which runs north-south from near the southern edge of the Woomera Prohibited Area towards Ceduna on the Eyre Peninsula.

An angry storm soaked the roads nicely and provided a thin layer of mud to give the Raptor that working-hard demeanour.

The collection of occasionally soft sand dunes provided a rich red accent remarkably similar to the Red Centre. While few of the dunes along the track challenged the Raptor, it quickly became clear the car is immensely capable.

With Sand mode engaged and tyre pressures lowered there was never an issue with traction. Clearance too – at a towering 272mm – was never an issue.

There’s also some usefulness to the Ranger’s accessories. Without a bullbar in place, we had to find somewhere to mount a sand flag, and the factory accessory mounting points surrounding the load tray were perfect.

However, one thing I was keenly keeping an eye on was fuel range. With higher fuel use on sand and an 80-litre fuel tank, there was at least a question mark as to whether the Raptor would cover the 300km-odd leg to Ceduna. I took another 20 litres just to be safe, but we didn’t get close to needing it.

Fuel use on the sand hovered around 16L/100km, so there was plenty in reserve as we headed for civilisation.

Down on the Eyre Peninsula, the sand is a lighter shade – and a lot softer.

Vehicles are allowed to cruise along the sand here, like so many South Australian beaches. This was yet another test for the Raptor.

Having adjusted tyre pressures a few times already I decided to chance it along one strip with road pressures in play. It lasted maybe two kilometres before digging itself in, forward progress halted.

Lowering the pressures to about 18psi saw the car drive out on its own, the traction control assisting with diverting drive where it could find traction.

But those low pressures also caused a drama later. When digging into soft corners some sand wedged its way between the 17-inch alloy wheel and the tyre. The result was a slow but annoying leak. The only option was to have it taken off the rim and cleaned.

As far as issues go for an outback run it was a minor one – and hardly one I could blame on the car.

The long cruise back along mostly open roads towards the east coast allowed time to consider what the Raptor had achieved.

Its V6 petrol engine delivers the goods but also has a bigger thirst than some may like. In some ways, that’s a small penalty given the advantages, especially for overtaking.

Besides, with a trip average of 14.2L/100km – including plenty of off-roading – it’s not exactly excessive.

What became clear the further I drove was that the suspension is the thing that really defines the Raptor. And not just on rally-like roads. Across craggy terrain and loose gravel, the Raptor asserts itself as a class act.

It’s not only fun but also immensely capable and the sort of vehicle that lets you push on without fear of reaching the vehicle’s extremes. The reality is the Raptor’s capabilities are so far ahead of what anyone is likely to experience on a road – or something that vaguely looks like one – that it rarely feels like it’s even trying.

Even with its maximum load capacity on board, the Raptor dealt with everything we could launch at it.

Sure, you could argue that a diesel-powered Ranger would be better suited to outback travel, and for many that will probably hold true. Certainly, the diesel engine would be more frugal, in turn extending the driving range. But what you miss with a Wildtrak or Ranger Sport is the suspension system that is so well set up for outback Australia.

If Ford could only combine that race-tuned chassis with the V6 diesel it may well have a near-perfect outback tourer.

For now, though, we’d be happy to spend more time at the bowser and take a Raptor on another big adventure.

Logbook: Ford Ranger Raptor off-road camping test
Price: $90,440 plus on-road costs
Powertrain: 3.0-litre V6 twin-turbo petrol
Outputs: 292kW/583Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Distance travelled: 6094km
Fuel use (official/on test): 11.5L/100km, 14.2L/100km

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